Mat gave him a careful look. “Why would that be weird? Unless they paid a shitload for shipping.”
Derek bit his bottom lip, considering his options. Refunding the eight bucks he charged for shipping wasn’t a big deal. But he didn’t know if Basil would appreciate him just showing up. It seemed presumptuous and a little creepy, if he was being honest. “I don’t know.”
“I bet they’d be happier if you walked it over,” Mat said thoughtfully. “I mean, no risk of it getting all fucked up in the mail. They’re like two blocks away, dude.”
It was a good point, but not one Derek wanted to explore right then. “I got a couple days, I’ll figure it out. Anyway, I’m off to Sam’s for the night, so if you guys get slammed, just call me.”
Mat offered him a mock-salute, then turned back to his drawing table and Derek took the opportunity to slip out without being dragged into further conversation. As he headed to his car, he heard footsteps and turned to see his brother jogging after him.
“Hey,” Sage said, trying to catch his breath, “I wanted to grab you before you head out.”
Derek stopped, raising a brow. “What’s up?”
“This weekend,” Sage said, as though Derek really did have that fake-ass twin ESP people always assumed they did. “I…it’s four years now and I just…uh. Could use the company.”
Derek felt his entire body sag with remorse because how the hell could he have forgotten that this weekend was the anniversary of Sage’s fiancé’s death? Granted, it had been getting easier, enough that no one really thought about Ted on the day-to-day, but Derek had been more attuned to the loss since it was Sage suffering, and he didn’t want to let himself get complacent.
“I have no plans,” Derek said. “Come home with me Friday after we close up.”
Sage looked somewhat relieved. “Thanks. I kind of have a proposition for you anyway, but I want to talk after you’ve been able to unwind.”
Derek bristled a little at that. Frankly, Sage’s ideas were kind of the worst, especially when his emotions were high. But right now, this weekend? He wasn’t going to turn down anything. “Yeah, of course.”
Sage gave him a cautious smile, and maybe once upon a time, this would have been a moment they hugged, but neither of them had really sought comfort with each other like that in years. Not since they lay huddled together in a rundown, squatter’s paradise with no heat and a single sleeping bag as they fought to get by night by night.
Too long since then had passed, but there were moments Derek couldn’t help but miss being able to take that small comfort when he needed it. For now, though, the smile his brother offered was enough, and they quickly parted ways.
The drive to Wild’s was short, and though Derek hated browsing aisles that smelled overwhelmingly of ground wheat and patchouli, he was able to load up and check out in only a handful of minutes. He loaded the bags into the back of his car, then parked next to Sam’s truck which was still making the faint clicking noise as the engine cooled from the long drive.
He slung the bags over his arm, using his free hand to grab the case of beer and lock up the truck, then let himself in the front door and went straight for the kitchen. Most of the lights were still off which probably meant Sam was in his bedroom, so Derek threw everything together in the dutch oven, covered it with a little water, the lid, then wandered off.
He found his friend on the floor with his legs propped up on his exercise ball. Derek could see the vicious tremors in his muscles, and the way Sam’s face was contorted in pain. “How bad?”
“Maybe like a six,” Sam told him, which in Sam-ese meant he was probably at an eleven. “I just got in and I figured I’d let my legs work themselves out a little before I try to balance in the tub.
“Want me to start it?” Derek asked.
Sam waved his hand toward the bathroom. “There’s some of that citrus salt under the cupboard, the one Tony always gives me shit about smelling like the farmer’s market. Throw a couple cups in there for me.”
Derek was old hat at this. Sam and Tony had grown up together, had been like brothers, but for whatever reason, Derek was better at all this shit. Maybe it was the fact that he’d seen things most people hadn’t which left him unbothered by all that Sam required to get by, but there had never been any awkwardness about it. Sam had a carer who usually helped out, but one winter a handful of years back, her sister had gone into early labor and she’d flown across the country for two weeks to help out.
Sam hated the replacement the home-health company had sent over, and after watching his spiraling frustration, Derek had offered to help. Sam was hesitant about letting it happen at first. He tended to keep the more unflattering parts of paralysis to himself—like the bladder control issues, and the spasms, and the times when his entire lower half just wouldn’t respond and he needed help with even the simplest transitions from chair to sofa, or chair to bed. Derek had simply put his mind to the task, and after a while, Sam had stopped hesitating to ask.
“Did May behave for you today?” Sam’s voice came from the doorway, and Derek turned to see the guy had stripped down and was bare-ass naked in his chair.
“She was perfect, as usual,” Derek told him as he arranged the bath seat at the side of the tub, and a towel resting on the edge. “Sage was watching Jaz, so we took them to lunch and fucked around at the duck pond for a while. She also got a flower from that little shop near the bookstore. The owner was outside making some arrangements and of course the girls charmed her.”
Sam chuckled as he wheeled to the edge of the tub and set his brake. Derek tested the water, then carefully helped Sam to shift from the chair, to the edge of the tub, and then into the water. He let out a small groan as he laid back, and Derek slid to the floor, grateful to have a moment of peace, even if it was on cold bathroom tiles.
“Kat took her pretty early though, so I’m not sure if she stayed in a good mood. You know how much she hates it when you’re away,” he finished.
Sam let out a tiny sigh. “I know. She’s getting better with the whole attachment thing, but her therapist was talking about this pre-memory trauma she’s got goin’ on from the foster home bullshit and she said it could last for most of her life.”
“God,” Derek said. He’d never known Sam’s cousin—the fifteen-year-old who’d gotten in way over her head with a too-old boyfriend. The guy was in jail now for assault and robbery, and the girl had sunk so deep into heroine Sam confessed he wasn’t sure she was even alive anymore. “Well I’ve noticed a difference the past few months at least, so that means something, right?”
“It does,” Sam said with a smile. He pushed himself up to sit, holding the side of the tub for balance, and used his other hand to massage his still-trembling legs. “How are you feeling?”
“Fucking sick of being asked that,” Derek confessed. “Apparently it was all over my goddamn face today and everyone decided to try to play mom with me.”
